It is a delight for a coach when a blend of youth and experience works in tandem to create magic for the team and Anil Kumble isn’t complaining either.
He couldn’t have asked for more in the manner seasoned Ravichandran Ashwin and rookie Jayant Yadav combined to outwit the dogged defiance of a stodgy England line-up during the comprehensive victory in the second Test.
While Ashwin is donning the role of an all-rounder batting at No 6, where he is making useful contributions on a regular basis, there are talks about his enormous workload as his phenomenal success in sub-continental conditions is known to one and all.
But Kumble insisted that Ashwin was not complaining. “He (Ashwin) has done an exceptional job starting from West Indies. When Rohit (Sharma) played and we played only four bowlers and six batters, Ashwin batted at No 7. We need that fifth bowler to pick up 20 wickets. That’s why he is consistently batting at No 6.
“Workload is something that you keep talking about but if you ask Ashwin, he is certainly enjoying batting at No 6 and doing what he is good at — both with bat and ball,” the coach waxed eloquent about one of his two premier match-winners.
